Raptors' Lowry day-to-day due to bruise, spasms

Raptors' Lowry day-to-day due to bruise, spasms

Kyle Lowry is the heart and soul of the Raptors, an indispensable player whose presence will be missed.

While DeMar DeRozan has justifiably garnered more attention each time he scores in bunches, an argument can be made that it’s Lowry and not DeRozan who means more to the Raptors given the position he plays and the tone Lowry sets.

For Tuesday’s tip against visiting Miami, the bulldog Lowry was unavailable, out following a nasty fall in Brooklyn when the veteran landed on his posterior.

A bruised tailbone is nothing to laugh at and it could have been worse for Lowry, who always leaves everything out on the floor.

love the support and well wishes thank from everyone!! It’s doesn’t go unnoticed thank you!!

And the nba brotherhood is one of a kind… I appreciate the homies reaching out !! Love!!

Without him, the Raptors will go with Delon Wright and Fred VanVleet, two young and emerging players who have stepped up.

Recently, head coach Dwane Casey has had Lowry, Wright and VanVleet on the floor together, whether it’s to match up with teams when they go small or simply provide added ball handling, which allows Lowry to play off the ball more.

A year ago, there was Cory Joseph to spell Lowry when the veteran missed time with injury.

The Raptors did a nice job with Joseph running the offence, but Lowry has unique skills and brings an approach that is second to none.

Wright has been the surprise story for the Raptors as the club reaches the half-way point to the season.

He is fearless when attacking the rim, has a knack for locking up his opponent and his size is a matchup problem for most point guards.

Wright is developing and once he’s able to refine his offence off the dribble, he’ll have the potential to run an offence on a full-time basis.

Lowry is in the first year of a new three-year deal and eventually the keys will be turned over to Wright with VanVleet waiting in the wings.

No team wants to be without its starting point guard, but the Raptors can survive Lowry’s absence, which doesn’t seem to be long term.

In the halfcourt, DeRozan has shown he can be used as a facilitator and expect more of the offence to run through his hands now that Lowry isn’t healthy and unavailable.

With the Raptors playing the back end of a back to back, head coach Dwane Casey needed to go to his bench last night, playing five second-unit players in the opening 12 minutes.

Norman Powell was one of them, a seldom-used option of late who was aggressive and showing little signs of hesitation when he was on the floor.

Wright has been among the Raptors’ best reserves.

Without Wright in the second unit, Toronto’s bench managed to score 13 first-half points, while Miami’s reserves produced 21.

The bench grew thinner when Serge Ibaka was tossed in the third quarter for a punching, shoving exchange with James Johnson.

With Ibaka shown the door, C.J. Miles was asked to play more minutes with the first unit.

His late third-quarter three-balls, on a back to back possessions, did provide the Raptors with some much-needed life.

When the fourth quarter began, the Raptors had VanVleet, Miles, Powell, Lucas Nogueira and G-Leaguer Lorenzo Brown on the floor, an unlikely group as you’ll ever see.

Needless to say, the circumstances were very strange for the Raptors with one starter in Lowry not available before game time, another starter in Ibaka exiled to the locker room following his ejection.

love the support and well wishes thank from everyone!! It’s doesn’t go unnoticed thank you!!

And the nba brotherhood is one of a kind… I appreciate the homies reaching out !! Love!!

This Week's Flyers

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.